The 4 th anniversary of Browar Stu Mostów has opened up an opportunity to promote the dynamically developing market of Good Beer.
Craft brewing creates good tastes. With every sip of craft pils, a new chapter is opened. Every sip of craft beer encourages you to expect more from beer and increases the craft market at the cost of commercial beers. People are getting more and more familiar with what craft represents. They understand that the key to see the difference between beer quality is brewing process. The craft new wave has been gaining momentum, specifically in Wrocław, the Capital of Good Beer, whose brewing traditions go back 800 years. Wrocław is home to the largest number of brewing initiatives in Poland, excellent beer events, and beer enthusiasts. There is no commercial production in Wrocław. This is the reason why the city has been promoting craft brewing.
This year Browar Stu Mostów has brewed twice as much beer as last year. We hosted twice as many brewers in Wrocław. Our international collaborations have resulted in the establishment of Beer Bridges, a collaborative project with such leading European breweries as Camba, Jopen, DeMolen, Naparbier, Brewski, or Wylam. For this reason, craft brewing has been developing so dynamically while commercial production has been in decline. We keep investing in quality and education. Since the brewery opened in 2014 more than 50 thousand people visited our premises. We show the difference between craft and commercial production to ever single visitor. We promote new styles and innovation, including the first in Poland nitrogen infused series of beers. We promote creativity of our brewers, our city, the region of Lower Silesia, and Poland. The promotion brings about expected effects. The fourth part of our production is exported. Beers brewed in Wrocław are available now on 20 demanding markets. What is most important we have been observing a constant growth on all market segments.
WRCLW promotes craft brewing.
As one of the top tourist destinations, Wrocław won the first prize at the European Best Destination 2018 with Bilbao as the runner-up. In the previous years the winners included: Lisbon, Porto, and Copenhagen. New wave brewing is doing really well in each of those cities..
We organized tap takeovers and collaborative brewings in each of those cities. We promoted Polish craft, Wrocław-based brewing traditions, festivals and hospitality.
Browar Stu Mostów has been listed among the 6 hottest craft breweries in Europe according to the British Gentleman’s Journal. We have been appreciated for our commitment in recreating the brewing traditions of WRCLW. Other craft breweries selected by the Gentleman’s journal include: the Galway Bay brewery with whom we completed a collaborative brewing in April in Ireland, and the Spanish Laugar with whom we brewed in Bilbao, and then Wrocław (ART#19 Rye Brut IPA).
Wrocław-based festivals have hosted a record-breaking number of visitors this year. Wrocław is home to the oldest and biggest in Poland beer festival promoting the beer revolution– Wrocław Good Beer Festival. Oktoberfest Alternative – drawing from the tradition of the Munich-based beer festival organized in Wrocław at the turn of the 19 th and the beginning of the 20 th century; Beer Geek Madness, the most exceptional festival dedicated to craft beer enthusiasts. This year’s edition of Intense has gathered an elite of the best breweries in Spain. We have also established the first culinary collaboration in the history of Polish craft. The Galicia-based Malte has been a partner to the Concept of Stu Mostów. The visitors of the Beer Geek Madness have been enchanted by the city’s hospitality and our beer culture. We are looking forward to BGM7 – Rage, which is going to promote Polish craft in England and Ireland.
The English are well aware of the position of WRCLW on the craft beer map. This year the biggest European magazine for beer enthusiasts with the circulation of 50 thousand has released a special issue on Poland. The cover featured our Salamander as the trademark for the Capital of Good Beer.
Browar Stu Mostów has been participating in all major European festivals beginning with the elite Brewskval, MASH Craft Beer Fest, La Fira in Barcelona or London Craft Beer Festival, through such exceptional local events as the Irish Hagstravaganza, Eindhoven Summer Festival, Budapest Beer Week, to the Craft Beer Festival in Frankfurt. We have had a great time at the Haandgemeng in Norway. We have just returned from the unique winter edition of Bier and Big in Eindhoven. We can’t wait to join the Black Beer Fest 2018 in Belgium.
WRCLW has marked its presence on the most important European markets. Beers brewed on Długosza Street are exported to 20 countries: Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland.
The Beer Bridges as the hallmark of craft brewing
Browar Stu Mostów boasts international collaborations with the leading European craft breweries. The Beer Bridges stand for collaborative brewing and sharing experiences with brewers. The aim is to enrich the beer culture, establish the culinary bridge, and show the craft brewing heritage, customs, and trends. High quality networking and exchange of experiences makes WRCLW one of the most favourite locations chosen for international collaborations. Last year only, we hosted Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, English and Russian brewers.
Under the ART brand, we created the following beers:
ART#17 Pink Guava Sour Saison in cooperation with Naparbier – the first farmer’s beer at Browar Stu Mostów; Saison – light and refreshing. It’s the first time we have added a very tropical pink guava.
ART#18 Honey & Vanilla Wheat Wine and Honey & Coconut Wheat Wine in cooperation with De Molen – this rarely brewed style has been brewed with the legendary brewery among European craft breweries that specialise in strong beers.
ART#19 Rye Brut IPA in cooperation with our friends from the Laugar brewery – following the latest trends we have created the youngest representative of the IPA family. We have also brewed Salamander Brut IPA.
ART#20 Hibiscus Citrus Saison in collaboration with Dois Corvos – an experienced Polish brewer of the young generation based in Lisbon has helped us to use the Hibiscus flower, which has introduced subtle refreshing tones to the light style of Saison.
ART#21 Brewery Pineapple and Passionfruit Sour Ale Sour in collaboration with Zagovor – an uncompromising Russian brewery and unconventional beer: stronger, sourish, aromatic, filled with tropical flavours. One-of-its-kind!
ART#22 DDH DIPL in collaboration with Northern Monk – beer brewed in collaboration with cold brewing experts whose IPAs are considered the best in Europe. Our shared experiences helped us to create an extremely hoppy and strong beer.
We have completed numerous collaborative projects.
Funky Espresso Coffee Sour Ale – collaborative brew with Laugar. We both love light and sour beers with some extra fruits added. Yet, in the Basque region we have decided to add local and sour coffee. The effect is electrifying! A perfect mix for summer time!
100 Ponts – collaborative brew with LaPirata, Barcelona. Inspired by the use of Belgian yeast strains in previous collaborations, we have decided to brew another intensely yeasty beer. We have used a totally new product– hop powder. The Belgian IPA beer combines yeasty tones: fruity and phenol tones and hoppy aromas.
Baltic Porter – collaborative brew with Northern Monk, Leeds. This time the brewery specialising in strongly hopped beers has joined forces with us to brew the “black gold” the Baltic Porter. Our experience in brewing lager type beers along with excellent British malts, specifically the brown malt, have resulted in the creation of a dark and malty beer.
Life Beyond the Metronome – collaborative brew with Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. We have used the Belgian yeast strains again to produce the unusually rustic and strong “funky” tones (due to phenols). Gigantic double hopping with Cenntennial, Citra, Denali, and Simco that Wylam is famous for has brought about intensive citrus and resinous tones.
Ślęża Brut DIPA IPA – collaborative brew with Track Brewing, Manchester. In cooperation with the Track brewery we have created extra dry IPA by adding tones of the most aromatic double hopped IPA. We added a total of over 30 g/l hops to the tank. The outcome? The most hoppy beer ever!
The latest collaboration with the Dois Corvos brewery from Lisbon, which hasn’t been introduced to the market yet. It has no name yet but we know what it tastes like. It is our craft take on the Key Lime Pie dessert in the form of a salty Gose beer with “cookie” malts and lime peels.
Ongoing availability of our beers
It’s been our priority to ensure constant availability of our beers. The year of 2018 has been ground-breaking in this respect. Our beers: WRCLW Pils, WRCLW Roggenbier, WRCLW Hefeweizen; WRCLW Schöps; SALAMANDER Pale Ale, SALAMANDER AIPA and Black IPA were available 365 days a year. The ongoing availability of our core brews is a big challenge for every craft brewery. Without it, purchasing craft beers is like a lottery. Ongoing availability of our beers allows us to build our daily consumption in a better way. This offer generates 1/3 of sales within 30km from our headquarters.
The portfolio of Browar Stu Mostów includes a wide range of barley, wheat, and rye styles from the lightest to the strongest, from pale to dark. The offer of barrel aged beers has been increasing. In February 2018 we launched nitrogen infused beers thanks to a specialist technology that allows to infuse almost every king of beer. The beer is available in bottle and keg. No other equipment is needed to enjoy it. Everyone can enjoy the first Polish craft beer with perfect head and smooth texture in a multitap or at home.
The WRCLW brand includes traditional brews such as the ones we have been offering since the very beginning: Pils, Roggenbier and Hefeweizen. What we brew under this brand are not only lighter beers but also more savoury. The WRCLW brand has expanded over stronger brews this year including WRCLW Imperial Stout – the strongest (11% alc. vol) and thickest (30 Plato) beer we have ever brewed. What is more the beer has also been released in the NITRO version and Woodfort Reserve Barrel Aged version. We offer WRCLW Schöps, the wheat symbol of Wrocław, on a daily basis. WRCLW Schöps has been gaining in popularity not only in Lower Silesia but also nationwide and abroad (similarly to 500 years ago). As the tradition has it, every year we release a special version of WRCLW Schöps. Every year aged in a different oak barrel and aged with smoked prunes. Finally, we offer the first in Poland Barley Wine aged in Belize rum barrels and infused with nitrogen. WRCLW is the brand that combines tradition and innovation.
SALAMANDER includes a wide palette of new wave beers with its most important segment being intensely hopped beers. We have doubled their number over cold double hopped DDH DIPA beers. Those super aromatic beers are intensely hoppy and subtly bitter. We have created a new style Brut IPA, a highly drinkable, aromatic, and savoury beer. If Black IPA is considered the Yin of our portfolio, White IPA is definitely the Yang. It is a light and hazy beer with fruity aromas of hops, India coriander, and orange peels. We keep on developing the segment of fruit beers, which includes the Strawberry Milkshake IPA that we redefine from time to time adding new fruit (e.g. Gooseberry Milkshake IPA and Blackcurrant Milkshake IPA). Berliner Weisse is a popular aperitif whose refreshing fruity flavours and lower alcohol contents quench anybody’s thirst.
Our Brewery specializes in fruit brews which have been very well received on the local and global markets. As they work best as an aperitif, their sales continue year- round. We have been focused on building Bridges between beers and fruit. We are one of the most experienced breweries in Poland that specialize in using fruit. We have used the most popular berries in brewing craft beers.
The trend for fruit brews has started with ART#8 Strawberry Berliner Weisse and has been followed by SALAMANDER Blackcurrant Berliner Weisse brewed in collaboration with the Polish Association of Blackcurrant Growers. Promoted in 15 countries and the biggest fruit fairs in the world, including Fruit Logistica (February 2018) and this year’s Global Berry Congress in Rotterdam (March 2018). Brewed in cooperation with growers associated with the Polish Berry Cooperative – ART#16 Blueberry Foreign Extra Stout NITRO has been the official beer of the world’s biggest Berry Conference in 2018 (organized every year in Poland).
The Berliner Weisse and Milkshake IPA series have been expanding. Fruit-based beers have a great export and image-building potential. We have established cooperation with fruit producers. By bringing these two sectors together, we promote craft among producers who value craft brewers as business partners. Craft breweries need high quality beers and knowledge about berry varieties. Together we make interesting and inherently Polish beers, which make beer enthusiasts happy and Poland famous. Talented brewers and Polish high-quality berries are our trademark.
State-of-the-art innovations
We have increased our production capacities by 75% this year. Since the day we opened our brewery we have tripled our technological capacities. We are able to produce up to 10 thousand hl beer every year. It’s one of the best results in the sector of craft breweries.
Thanks to our investments, our production capacities have tripled and beer quality has been improved at all stages of production beginning with the grains to bottling; hopping quality has risen thanks to the use of HopGun right after the fermentation process has been completed, a centrifuge, and flash pasteurizer, and professional bottling.
State-of-the-art technologies allow us to keep the beer unfiltered and preserve its taste and smell. We make the best use of our centrifuge and flash pasteurizer to keep high quality standards. We heat the beer for a few second to the temperature of 70°C only to be cooled down immediately to a few degrees. Professional bottling line provides for oxidization and microbiological cleanness.
We care about the environment. We use steam to sterilise our bottling line and kegs. To heat it up, we use energy from natural gas, the cleanest energy from fossil fuels. Our centrifuge runs on electricity which, in contrast to filtration methods, allows to eliminate membranes installed on plastic cores. In the bottling process we use recycled materials; bottles are stored in cardboard boxes. High automatization level allows for rational economy of water use. Brewer’s grain is partly used by Concept Stu Mostów to produce bread. The rest of it is used by farmers to feed animals. Goat meat and cheeses from such farms are served at our brewery.
We promote sustainable development. We have established business relations with well-known suppliers and the best fruit growers in Poland. In Concept we produce products with ingredients grown environmentally friendly. This is part of our beer brewing philosophy. We promote such a lifestyle in which humans produce as little waste as possible and thus minimize the negative impact on the environment. What it means in practice is that we follow the most important rules of Zero Waste: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, reproduce, rot. Zero Waste goes along with minimalism, environmentally friendly and ethical lifestyle in all aspect of a life and business. We support those who raise our awareness in this matter. We consider side products of our craft brewing as valuable resources that shouldn’t be wasted.
We promote undervalued culinary ingredients, the best example being dishes cooked with the use of side products from beer brewing such as bread, cookies from brewer’s grain, bread soup, whey drink, salty vegetable peels and aspic served at the Ujazdowski Castle during the Nowe Epifanie Festival by Michał Czekajło, the chef at Browar Stu Mostów.
One of the numerous initiatives carried out together with the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław is farming edible mushroom with the use of brewer’s grain. Filamentous fungi are nutritional food.
The Food Science and Nutrition Department at the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław has been ranked #1 in Poland in the prestigious ranking of the faculties according to the “Perspektywy” (the department has gained 100% points). The University offers the first in Poland post-graduate programme for brewers.
The photograph features our team celebrating triple success in the competition of the 2018 Good Beer Academy. The three submitted beers representing three brands have been awarded three statues. SALAMANDER Grapefruit and Mandarin DDH DIPA – gold, ART#8 – bronze, WRCLW Pils – bronze. The verdict of the Good Beer Academy is to promote standards and trends in craft brewing.
All employees of Browar Stu Mostów involved in production are graduates of the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław. Michał Żankowski as the Brewer (a graduate of the Food Science Department); Wojciech Tkaczuk – Brewer (a graduate of the Brewing Technology Department); Mateusz Gulej – the Head Brewer (a graduate of the Food Science Department); Paula Prorok – Quality Control Specialist (a graduate of the Food Science Department); Katarzyna Chlebus – Event Manager (a graduate of the Food Science Department); Filip Dąbrowski – Brewer (a graduate of the Food Science Department); Grzegorz Lisiak – Beer Manager(a graduate of the Food Science Department); Jakub Borowski – Sales Director (a graduate of the Food Science Department); and Marta Antos – Bottling Manager (a graduate of the Brewing Technology Department).
Craft is more than beer
The young sector has an increasingly strong impact on our lifestyle, the way we spend our free time, and what restaurants list in their menus. In WRCLW we are particularly focused on the experience of our customers with craft beers. Celebrating its 2nd birthday this year, Concept Stu Mostów has played a significant role in this respect.
Concept Stu Mostów is a creative space for craftsmen who cooperate with brewers on a daily basis: a baker, chef, cheesemaker, pastry chef, and their co-workers. The unique offer of Concept is based on the proximity of the Brewery. What we use in the production of pretzels, bread, and mustards are beer, wort, malts, and brewer’s grain. It is a place friendly to producers and farmers where one can taste organic cheeses or meat. All our produce is hand made on the spot based on original recipes. We offer many of our products in jars while others are delivered to selected shops and restaurants.
Concept brings together the knowledge and experience of chefs and brewers. This is the place where we show our craft philosophy behind food production. We want to our clients to experience food with all their senses. In our production we offer unconventional solutions and overcome any limitations. This is where chefs support brewers (technologists) in promoting beer flavours and foodpairing. This is where food pairing recommendations are designed. This is where we run workshops: BEER + Meat; BEER + Preserves; BEER +Pretzels (baking goods). Concept has come up with the idea of educational Beer Dinners. The common ground for all our initiatives is education. The more people are aware of craft brewing, the more often they choose craft beers.
Klub Stu
We are focused on high quality beers and education. On Długosza Street we have opened new premises where we organize workshops, tastings, dinners for both loyal and potential beer enthusiasts. We have supported the activities of the Polish Association of Craft Brewers (established in February 2018). We keep on promoting Poland and WRCLW all over Europe.
We bring people, cities, and countries together. We are happy to observe a growing number of Browar Stu Mostów ambassadors. We are soon going to have a big surprise for craft lovers. Our aim is to promote beer culture and the most interesting achievements of craft brewers.
